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Sources of Resources – Teacher Notes
How a rock, sediment or mineral is made can
control how and why we use it.
Limestone is a biogenic sediment. It formed from
calcium carbonate in shells of marine organisms.
Often it is further changed geochemically by
groundwater.
The Roundhouse in Fremantle was built from
Tamala limestone because it is soft and easy to
carve into blocks using simple hand tools and man
power provided by convicts. It was light, cheap and
locally available.
Unfortunately these characteristics make it prone to weathering. Its porosity and
permeability also makes rising damp a problem.
Material used
Granite for use in
kitchens, bathrooms
and monuments.
Sand for laying under
cement as a house
pad.
Clay for pipes, roofing
tiles, bathroom
furniture and fittings.
Iron ore for structural
steel.
Marble for tiles and
decoration.
Earth process which created it and why it is useful for this
purpose
Melting to form igneous rock. Interlocking hard crystals
make it a hard impermeable rock which polishes into a
smooth attractive surface.
Igneous rock (Felsic, intrusive)
Weathering, erosion and deposition produces silica rich
medium sized clasts. Sand is porous and permeable allowing
water to drain away. It is easily shaped into the base on
which to build a house.
Sediment
Weathering, erosion and deposition of very fine aluminasilicate clasts (mud). The flat surfaces allow the clasts to be
pressed together and moulded into different shapes before
baking to become hard and reasonably impermeable.
Sediment
Volcanoes erupt iron rich magma. This was weathered,
eroded and deposited in ancient seas when there was little
oxygen in the atmosphere to form BIF (Banded Iron
Formations). This is dug up and sent to the foundry.
Steel can be rolled into any shape required for frame
construction. It is strong and reasonably resistant to
weathering.
Mineral
Sedimentary limestone is taken down into the Earth and
subjected to increased temperature and pressure (regional
metamorphism). The rock partially melts and larger calcite
crystals form. These crystals give marble its lustre. They are
however relatively soft making the rock easy to carve and
polish.
Metamorphic rock
An initiative supported by Woodside and ESWA
Sources of Resources – Teacher Notes
Talc for toiletries and
smoothing out paper.
Pumice for polishing.
Quartz sands for glass
making.
Slate for roofing
Dolerite for “road
metal”
Sandstone for water
holding aquifers
Talc forms when an ultramafic (extremely rich in iron and
magnesium) rock undergoes regional or contact
metamorphism. Very flat platy crystals make talc the softest
mineral in Mohs scale. The soft flat crystals make it an
excellent lubricant. It is not soluble in water and is used to
fill gaps in paper and smooth out creases in skin.
Mineral
Pumice is a silica (quartz) rich and gas rich volcanic which is
ejected from volcanoes . It chills instantly trapping the gas
as “bubbles” within the solid rock. The rock is mostly silica,
which is a hard and abrasive mineral.
Igneous rock (Felsic, extrusive)
Igneous rocks are weathered, eroded and deposited. Often
winds or the sea separates out the minerals leaving almost
pure quartz sand. This is melted at high temperature and
poured or rolled into glass. Quartz is a hard mineral, 7 on
Mohs scale, and its transparency makes it useful for
windows and clear containers.
Sediments
Mudstone is regionally metamorphosed to form slate. The
pressure aligns the minerals into plates which makes it
fissile (able to be split into flat plates). Partial melting
produces hard impermeable surfaces.
Metamorphic rock
Dolerite is an intrusive igneous rock which forms dykes and
sills. It has interlocking crystals which makes it hard and has
a high percentage of iron and magnesium making it dense.
You need less dolerite to pack into road fill or rail base than
most other rocks. Being igneous, it weathers slowly.
Igneous rock (Mafic, intrusive)
Weathering, erosion, deposition, compaction and
sedimentation produce sandstone. Sandstone is both
porous and permeable allowing rainfall to percolate down
into it and collect for an aquifer (stored water resource).
Sedimentary rock
An initiative supported by Woodside and ESWA